VA running at least one month late on Cerner implementation launch

Only a week after Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie reassured the press that the rollout of the Cerner EHR to replace VistA was right on time, FCW was advised by a VA spokesperson that the implementation is only 75-80 percent complete, and more time is needed for the system build and staff training. The 28 March rollout at Spokane, Washington’s Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center will have a new ‘go-live’ date according to the spokesperson. Another source said to FCW that the interfaces between Cerner, VA IT, and VistA has been a worse ‘slog’ than anyone imagined, so it made little sense to train anyone on a unfinished system. The date is now estimated to be end of April.

Apparently key Congresscritters on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and IT subcommittees were prepared for the delay by Secretary Wilkie–a wise move–and they applauded the recognition that more preparation and training are required.

VA’s fiscal 2021 budget, revealed on 10 Feb, requested $2.6 billion for the Cerner EHR modernization project, up from $1.5 billion in the prior year. There’s $500 million more for infrastructure readiness and $62 million hike in program management support.

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